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Rovers talisman keen to avoid play-off complacency

17th of September 2013

Featherstone Rovers captain Liam Finn will not be taking anything
for granted when his side take on Batley Bulldogs

#RLChampionships

By Josh Barrowcliff

Featherstone Rovers captain Liam Finn will not be taking anything for granted when his side take on Batley Bulldogs in a Kingstone Press Championship play-off semi-final at the Big Fellas Stadium on Sunday (3.00pm).

Featherstone secured their fourth consecutive Championship League Leaders’ Shield by ending the regular season in pole position and are aiming for their fourth consecutive Grand Final should they overcome the Bulldogs.

With home advantage, Rovers start as over-whelming favourites but half-back Finn and his team-mates are staying focused.

“This is a knockout game, so form goes out of the window,” said Finn. “Both teams will be playing to their absolute maximum as it’s a game that no-one wants to lose so we know we’ll have to be at our best.

“Hopefully we can remain focused on what’s in front of us and keep up our strong end to the season.

“We’re at home which is good but I don’t think it will make a big difference for us. We know the most important thing is the contest on the field and making sure that we come out on top on the day.

“Sometimes external influences try to put more pressure on you by making it a bigger game, we’ve kept training normal which I think every team tries to do and we’re fully focused on completing the job.”

Responsibility is nothing new to Finn and he says he will not let his status as captain of both club and country, Ireland, get in the way of success with Rovers ahead of Rugby League World Cup 2013.

“At the moment my sole focus is on Featherstone and trying to achieve everything I can with them,” he said.

“Obviously it is a massive honour to lead my country but the job is much easier with the experienced internationals around me. We have a good squad with players hungry to prove themselves at the highest level so hopefully we can convert that into results when the competition starts.

“But that’s all to come, once the season is over I will focus on success with the national squad but until then the only thing on my mind is ensure we can go all the way to the Grand Final.”

Tickets for the Kingstone Press Championship play-off game between Featherstone Rovers and Batley Bulldogs at the Big Fellas Stadium on Sunday September 22 cost from £17 for adults, £10 for concessions and £5 for juniors and can be purchased at the gate.

The 2013 Kingstone Press Championships Finals Day at Leigh Sports Village on Sunday September 29 features a feast of first class Rugby League action with three matches kicking off with the Rugby League Conference Challenge Trophy Final, Leigh Miners v Wigan St Patricks (11.30am), followed by the Championship One Play-off Final (2.00pm) and Championship Grand Final (4.30pm). Tickets cost from just £15 for adults, £10 for concessions and can be purchased by visiting www.rugbyleaguetickets.co.uk or by calling the RFL Ticket Office on 0844 856 1113.

For people with any form of disability the RFL offers a free assistant place when booking tickets. For people with a visual impairment or non-sighted disability we also offer audio visual descriptive commentary for all our events.

The Rugby Football League Limited is a company registered in England and Wales with company number 3845473. The registered address is Red Hall, Red Hall Lane, Leeds, LS17 8NB. The VAT Registration Number of The Rugby Football League Limited is 168 8110 49